Black Garlic Miso Stuffing

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. quality day-old sourdough, hand-torn into 1-inch pieces
• 8 oz. breakfast sausage
• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
• 2 ½ cups yellow onions, diced
• 1 ¼ cups celery, sliced into ¼-inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups kale, sliced
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 3 Tbsp. Shared Cultures Black Garlic Miso
• 2 ½ cups chicken stock, divided
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 2 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F and grease a 13x9x2-inch casserole dish with butter.
2. Spread out the torn sourdough on a sheet tray and bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. Cool in a large separate bowl.
3. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F.
4. In a large stainless steel pan over medium heat, cook the breakfast sausage until fully rendered and mostly cooked through (a few raw pieces are fine). Do not worry if some sticks to the pan, as it will be scraped off later.
5. Melt the remaining butter in the pan and increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté the onion and celery, stirring often until very tender, using the residual moisture to scrape up the browned bits of sausage.
6. Add the garlic, fennel seeds, and kale, then cook for another minute.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the Shared Cultures Black Garlic Miso.
9. Transfer the pan contents to the large bowl with the toasted bread and allow to cool.
10. Pour 1 cup of the chicken stock over the bread and vegetable mixture, then mix to incorporate.
11. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and remaining chicken stock. Add this to the bread mixture along with the parsley, rosemary, thyme, and sage.
12. Gently fold everything together until fully combined. Most of the liquid should be absorbed by the bread, with a small amount remaining at the bottom of the bowl.
13. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the center reaches 160°F.
14. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 to 30 minutes until golden and crisp. If using a convection oven, turn on a high fan during this final bake.